The Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4. 1908. A DOUBLE ASSASSINATION.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 3784, 4 February 1908, Page 2

The Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4. 1908. A DOUBLE ASSASSINATION.

The cabled particulars' of the double assassination of King Carlos I. and the Crown Prince, has sent a thrill of horror throughout the civilised world. Trouble has been brewing in the Portugese capital for some time, and the King and. Parliament have been at loggerheads. • Parliament was dismissed in May last, sipce when the King has governed by decree. The people have complained against- extravagance, and have been urged by the press to refuse to pay taxation. The only means of redress urged by extremists was through the spilling of Royal blood. In November a plot was laid to blow up the King and his Premier, but it exploded prematurely, killihg ajcpnspirator' and wounding two'others. Whether the extreme measures, that have been taken'will bring about the desired reforms, remains to be' seen. Much sympathy ,is felt for the Queen Consort who witnessed the awful sight. An English paper ;df December 13th published the following account of the uhseti led state of affairs in Portugal : “The situation at Lisbon continues to be far from satisfactory, and the political agitation grows in intensity every day. Portugal is not yet ripe for the constitutional regime. ’ As a matter of fact, such a regime has never existed except in name,, and even the sorcalled “Liberal” Governments have done nothing beyond exercising the functions of a dictatorship. The Ministers have nearly always been the Ministers of the King, and not of the nation. The country, which is not enough, to have a will of its own, is still in its minority, and needs tutelage. This is so true that if the Portuguese dynasty were to abdicate and a republic Jo be proclaimed, the republicans, finding themselves incapable of governing, would be compelled to institute a dictatorship or re-establish the monarchy at the end of a few months. This is the general opinion although the monarchy is really not regarded with affection by the. afimy, the navy, and the great mass of ■ the people, there is nevertheless no'desire to abolish it.

Senhor Franco kept the Parliamentary machines running for six months, from September 29th, 1906, to April 1 ith’j. 1907,' a feat which no Portuguese Minister has accomplished before him. During that period he presented a number of useful projects, such, among others, as the amendment of the

law of 1896 against the Anarchists, the law of Ministerial responsibility, the law 01 Sunday observance. The Republicans and the Liberal Dissidents, however, instead of discussing these projects, set up an obstinate obstruction by engaging in. interminable discussions a propos de rieu. , The situation became .more'-,'; and more difficult. During three days in April last, in a debate’ on the universities, in vyhich .the Qoveynment maintained tire right ot .educational control, the chamber presented'anindescribable chaos, and it was impossible to proceed with the order of the day. Senhor Franco, willing to exhaust all possible means of constitutional Government, asked Castro to furnish him with Ministers to consolidate the Liberal concentration. Castro refused, and Franco submitted the question of confidence to the King. His Majesty expressed bis entire confidence in his Minister, basing his judgment on the fact that Senhor Franco had practically demonstrated the utier impossibility of governing with the then Parliament, and that he (Franco) was the only Minister with a definite programme. On May 10th Franco set himself up as Dictator. He had hardly been presented with the dictatorship when he presented himself to the King, explaining to him the financial position of .the Treasury, informed him of the sums due from the royal house, and told His Majesty plainly that the Treasury could make no further advances to the Crown. The King, instead of being annoyed, agreed with his Minister, and from that moment the system of advances has absolutely stopped. The .King has ceded to the State his yacht and certain palaces whose upkeep proved too heavy for the royal purse, and in return his Civil List, which used to affiotiut to '.65 coutos G£73,000) yearly, has oeeri increased by 135 ■ coutos (,£27,000), so that to-day it amounts to ,£IOO,OOO, which enable) the King to meet all his expenses. Senhor Franco states that he requires four years for the complete re-organisation of the public administration and for the preparation of 'a new constitutional area.”

The late King visited King Edward in 1902 and 1904. During his stay at Windsor in 1904, when he was accompanied by Queen Amelie, an Arbitration Treaty with Great Britain on the usual lines was signed. Carlos 1., who was born in 1863, was the son of King Luiz I; and his Queen Maria Pia,. daughter of the late King Victor Emanuel of Italy. He married in 1886 Queen Maria Amelie, daughter ot Philippe Due d’Orleans, Comte de Paris, and succeeded to the throne in October, 1889. He had two sons, Prince Luiz Philippe, Duke of Bragauza, born in 1887, who was assassinated with him, and Prince Manuel born in 1889. In 1902, the Duke of Braganza was made a Knight of the Garter of King Edward. The reigning dynasty of Portugal belongs to the House of Braganzaj which dates from the end of the fourteenth century. When the old line of Portugese Kings of tne House of Avis became extinct, Philip If. of Spain became King ot Portugal in virture of his descent from a Portugese princess. After 60 years' union under the same Kings wdth Spain, the people of Portugal revolted, and proclaimed Dom Joao, the then Duke of Braganza, as their national King, he being the nearest Portugese heir to the throne. The. Duke thereupon assumed the name of Joao IV., to w’hich Portugese historians appended the title of “ the Restorer.” From this Joao the present rulers of Portugal are descended. Queen Maria 11,,. by her marriage with a Prince of Coburg-Gotha, Fernando, Duke of Saxe, united the house of Braganza with;that of the Teutonic Sovereigns of Portugal of the line ot Braganza Coburg.

Mr and Mrs Geo. Whibley, by advertisement, tender their sincere thanks especially to Dr Mandl and to all who rendered assistance and sent messages of sympathy during' their recent bereavement. At the Palmerston S.M. Court yesterday,' Edward Jones, alias Johns (Mr Cooper), was charged with having, on the 12th day of April, 1907, at Ashhurst, indecently assaulted a girl aged eight years. Evidence in support of the charge was given by several witnesses. Accused reserved his defence, and was committed for trial at the next sitting ot the Supreme Court in Palmerston. North. Bail was, allowed, self- and two sureties of,v£ioo each. Mr Owen McArdle of Wellington, 5 died at Masterton on Saturday. Mr'McArdle,'who was one of Wellington’s best known citizens, was' a native of County Monaghan,•; Ireland. Coming to New Zealand as a young man he proceeded ~to the West Coast. There he joined the service of Messrs Gilmer, his cousins, and later on took over the Melbourne Hotel at Charleston. Leaving the Cost he became associated with the Brunner Coal Company’s business in Wanganui. Subsequently' he was appointed manager of' Staples and Co.’s brewery,,Thorndon, a position (as well' as, that of secretary) he held for very-’ many? years. Mr leaves: a) widow and three sons and two daughters.

Great drapery sale now on. at Watchorn, Stiles and Co.’s,,where tweed and linen costumes are being sold regardless of cost whatever.—Ad VT. ,

WOLFE’S SCHNAPPS lias stimulating properties possessed by no btlier spirit.

A gold neck chain with pendant and gold bird safety pins is advertised for.

Mrs Dndson, of Nikau Villa, the Avenue, has vacancies for two respectable boarders. The Borough Council invite ten' ders for carting 300 yards of gravel. The work of installing telephone communication between Shannon and Moutoa is being pushed ahead. The engineer, fireman and guard of the Sanson tram, lent valuable assistance in putting out the grass fire which threatened destruction to certain buildings in the Lady's Mile yesterday.

The Rev. G. K. Aitken will conduct Divine service at the beach on Sunday afternoon next at 2 p.m. Everyone is invited to attend. Members of the Presbyterian choir will assist with the singing.

Great drapery sale now on at Watchorn, Stiles and Co.’s, where millinery, children’s hats, fancy straws can almost be had for the asking.— Advt.

Work on the Shannon-Moutoa bridge has been delayed through scarcity of labour. It is anticipated that the bridge will be open for traffic in April.

All goods will be sold at a great sacrifice during the drapery sale at the Economic (Mrs Hamer’s) in order to make room for the arrival of new goods.*

We are informed that boys are in the habit of interfering with the windmill in the Avenue. We warn them that they are liable to be prosecuted for such interference.

We remind the public of the meeting to be held in the Masonic Hall this evening in reference to the proposal to form a harbour board for Foxton. The chair will be taken by His Worship the Mayor. ' Everyone who can make it convenient, should attend. Constable Woods is investigating the origin of the fire which destroyed Mr Macdonald’s hemp on Saturday. In conversation with our representative, Constable Woods states that he is of opinion that the fire was started by children who had been playing about the racecourse buildings at the spot where the fire started. The following deceased persons’ estates were certified for stamp duty in the Wellington province during January:— William McGill, : George H. Young, Andrew G. Doughty, ,£3158; David Hall, ; Bernard McDonnell, ; John F. C. Beu, Enoch Walker, ; Sarah E. Hardeman, ; Robert Robson, ; Gilbert H. Umfreville, ; James Johnson, ; Wm. H. Armitage ; John Shaw, Mary May, A meeting of the Flaxmillers’ Association was held at Palmerston North on Saturday, Mr A. Seifert presiding. Dissatisfaction was again expressed at the want of a chief grader, and several instances were brought before the Association which emphasised the necessity of something being done in that direction. A motion Was carried requesting the Government to allow their instructor to visit the Manawatu district for the purpose of giving the millers the benefit of his services. A vote of thanks was accorded to Mr Ross, of the Foxton rope works, for his gift of samples of the various commodities that can be manufactured from hemp, which is to be sent to the Anglo-French Exhibition. A fracus occurred on the train reaching Feilding at 5.30 p.m. on Friday, says the Star, in which a Chinaman , was severely handled. by a young man who was travelling in the same ca-riage. The facts elicited by an enquiry showed that the man offered the alien a drink from a bottle of beer in a rather impudent way, and the Chinese retaliated by kicking the free dispenser of the beer. A welldirected blow from the fist of the white, man caused the blood to flow freely from his opponent’s face,: but the Chinese was more frightened than hurt. The matter was settled without recourse to the law courts.

Great drapery sale now on at Watchorn, Stiles and Co.’s, where you can get damasks, calicos, prints, flannelettes, etc., at absolute bedrock prices.—Advt. Messrs Gardner & Whibley have received a consignment of fruit including Queensland pineapples at 4d, sd, and 6d each ; Fiji bananas, 6d per dozen ; Frimley nectarines and peaches, 6d per lb ; oranges, is and is 6d per dozen. Mason’s jars just arrived.* / Your storekeeper or chemist sells Eheumo at 2s 6d and 4s 6d.

A bad taste in the mouth always arises from a disordered stomach, and may be corrected by taking a dose of Chamberlain’s Tablets. They cleanse and invigorate the stomach, improve the digestion and give one a relish tor food. For sale at Gardner &‘Whibley’ Grocers,, .